RICKIE Vinilo y CD

Review: Overground label co-founder Rickie is next up with four classy outings that operate in the worlds of minimal and tech house. First out of the blocks is the nice and futurist 'Foreknowledge' with its beeps and pulses colouring steely tech grooves. 'Controversial Sequence' is more zoned out with balmy pads bringing some far-sighted cosmic ambiance and 'Experiment X' on the flip does as all B1 cuts should - gets more loose and weirder for the late-night crew with wispy melodies and panning synth drones. 'Revolution' shuts down with a nice rueful and melancholic feel in the pads.

Review: Anyone of a certain age will hear 'Rickie' and think 'Biancaaaa' and there is certainly an East-end of London/Fuse/93 Feet East vibe to these tech house gems on Overground. 'All Of Us Catch Hell' is dubby, deft, subtle in its slinky and infectious grooves as it reminds of early Craig Richards and Tyrant work. 'Realization' then gets loose on a nice spangled bassline and off-balance drums that keep you on your toes while 'Inner Odyssey' has a nice tripped-out vibe and mellifluous keys that rain down from above. 'Peace' closes with some superb 909 drum action and plenty of cosmic rays of colour.

Review: The Off Grid label outta Germany serves up its third 12" here and opts for a four-tracker from various artists. TINI's 'WHAT WHAT' kicks off with a bumping house cut that's wired up with some spaced-out pads and warped synths. Rickie then gets all wonky and loose with his off-balance 'Explosion' which has blurts of bass and snappy low ends and GNMR's 'Controlled By Mefistofele' gets more wonky and textural with smeared and smudged sounds and a nice acid bassline. Session 4000 shuts down a high-impact and fresh EP with the astral and speed-out tech with 'C'est Wild'.